One of the more pronounced phrases on Jamie Craig's MySpace page as well as his promo letter is: The Lost Dream is not your mother’s New Age Music.
As a Progressive Music fan and reviewer, I can not disagree enough with this statement, but I think I'm jumping the gun a bit here, first things first...
For people who are not familiar, Jamie Craig is a talented one-man band. He is self-taught and played all instruments, recorded and produced, The Lost Dream. He acknowledges many influences including: Sam Robbins, the Herb Albert, to Tangerine Dream, Tony Banks, Pink Floyd and the new age performers of the 80's.
After punk rock and the eighties new wave bands (for the most part), hit the final nail in the Progressive Rock coffin; a thin veil of pseudo-mellow prog came out which was labeled and marketed as- new age music. For the most part, the music was fairly mellow, and varied in quality from brilliant (Michael Hedges), to watered drivel (remember the the Windham Hill label?). Still it bridged the gap between the death and underground rebirth of prog music.
Now back to my disagreement. Mr. Craig's music, to me- is a more beat-oriented throwback to new age music than an acknowledgement to Progressive Music, past or present. Progressive Music's modus operandi is dictated by time signature changes, dynamics, many songs contain epic compositions, strong musicianship and the desire to take risks and experiment. The Lost Dream shows little of these criteria save competent musician skills.
My disagreement aside, Jamie's compositions, though penned and played safe, are an enjoyable listen, especially while I go about illustrating CD art or doing web design. His musical tone is straight forward, sometimes uplifting without being pretentious.
Craig knows how to create some nice melodies and hooks, you can not avoid tapping your foot or acknowledging his soft new age rhythms. They are simple without approaching minimalism, but they do work and fit the pieces. Though many of the compositions have a similar faded ending, and overall similarfeel (partly due to the digital rhythms), I have to admit that his music is consistent (it stays on track), and for the most part is likeable.
Sound-wise, I like the percussion's crisp sound, though it would be nice to hear more variation. and some counter-rythyms. Digital bass work (Craig's strength), is very solid and incorporates many tones. Piano sounds are beautiful. One of the questionable additions is the sax. Granted, the tone is gorgeous, but it is played with almost a hesitant feeling which made me cringe (ex.- `The Lost Dream' (Radio mix) and `Take the High Road.'
Another positive point is the production. The music sounds very good; clean, crisp and sometimes even hypnotic in a mellow digital sort of fashion.
The one track that has a faint aura of a prog feel (barely), is one of the best cuts- `Movement,' which showcases a direction I'd personally like Mr. Craig to explore more often.
Other more standout new age tracks included the repetitious but toe-tapping melodic tracks- `Steel Wheel' and `Stereo Five.'
Still, this is not progressive music, and I was very surprised to see all of Jamie's influences as well as emails that suggested a strong bond to prog. The lack of any traditional solos further separates his album from the genre.
Jamie Craig's The Lost Dream would be excellent soundtrack music for television. I envision his compositions on shows like the Discovery Channel's `How it's Made.' In fact it would be a perfect fit.
Jamie Craig, seems like a very nice person, passionate about his work, and a man with excellent taste in music. He understands melody and his production is very strong, and yet if he would like to gain a greater prog following, he will need to change his way of penning a song and incorporate more time variation/change. Taking a risk as well as fleshing out his compositions with more dynamics and power would help him stay away from the new age labeling. Perhaps using a mixture of traditional instruments with the digital, or incorporate guest soloist or musicians would also be a thought.
As a new age album, this is easy to take in with few risks that is enjoyable while occupied. As progressive music, this would be a questionable listen, especially to the more experimental prog fan and/or prog-snob.
The album art has the potential to be intersting if I could see it; it looks to be an overly dark Photoshop piece. To me it fails to reflect the music, but it does illustrate the CD's title.
If Mr. Craig decides to fully explore his progressive side, he needs to do quite a bit of homework, but I feel that Jamie, if he desires to, has the potential to do just that.
Rating 7.6 (If you are a hardcore or experimental prog fans, you need not apply. Grading is entirely subjective).
